Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Just the Smiling Man
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Wake up!
"...Hmm. Doesn't it feel like it's been ages since we last met?"
"Yeah. We definitely said 'see you next week' when we parted last week."
Just three days. So much had happened in those three days.
Kang Yuna had to cancel all the trips she had planned for the weekend.
Her parents stayed in the hospital room, clutching their startled hearts.
Louise made time to visit Kang Yuna.
Normally, reporters would have come flocking to cover the heroic tale of the brave cadet who fought.
But given the circumstances, no one showed any interest.
"Thanks to that, it was easy to visit Yuna."
"Honestly, I was relieved too. My parents didn't have to deal with the reporters."
It was common knowledge that the Jin family had been attacked by the Seven Evils.
There had been numerous casualties, and the Jin estate was half in ruins.
Nevertheless, Jin Seo-ah's expression wasn't all that dark.
"I had a good experience."
"...?"
"??"
Along with words that made absolutely no sense from the perspective of the other cadets.
"Ha-eun. Is Ha-eun okay? I heard reporters swarmed because of the Holy Knight thing. And during that, the Smiling Man... um. Kidnapped her? That's what I heard."
At Louise's words, Kang Yuna and Jin Seo-ah turned their heads simultaneously.
Yeah. They'd seen the articles. The Smiling Man had kidnapped Seo Ha-eun.
Fortunately, she had been rescued by the S-Rank Hero Valkyrie.
That was what everyone else believed, but not them.
The Smiling Man kidnapping her? No way. There had to be another reason.
"Anyway, it's a relief she returned without a scratch."
"Thank you. That's actually what I wanted to talk about, Louise."
Seo Ha-eun had returned to school later than the others due to the reporters.
She gazed at the academy grounds and slowly opened her mouth.
"What... is that situation right now?"
"Oh. That? It's exactly what it looks like."
Plastered prominently on the wall was a large poster.
And the bold headline written across it read:
The Hero Academy was built with tax money from various governments.
At the same time, it received a massive amount of funding from the Union.
So many cadets held favorable views toward the Union.
Or at least, that's what Seo Ha-eun had thought. The poster was quite a shock to her.
"It's unexpected. I thought people would prioritize dealing with villains first since citizens were attacked."
"The Holy Knight incident must have been that shocking. Above all, a hero who has lost the public's trust can no longer be called a hero."
Ah, of course, that didn't represent the entire academy's opinion.
As Louise said, soon another poster went up next to it.
There were suspicions of cover-ups involving high-ranking Union officials' abuse of power and various incidents.
But ultimately, the most critical issue was the heroes' own misdeeds.
The cadets who made the posters were pointing exactly to that.
Excessive attacks on the Union would cause division.
Right now, defeating the common enemy was paramount!
"...This is tough."
It was especially so for Kang Yuna, who had received support from the Union.
If they had done nothing, it might have been different.
But they couldn't outright deny the history they had shared up until now.
The Union had been the sturdiest pillar supporting the heroes' justice.
"No need to overthink it. There's no replacement for heroes, but plenty for the Union. It's a miracle they've lasted this long. Even rotten, they've been somewhat functional."
"Seo-ah, you're negative toward the Union. Yuna's neutral, I suppose."
"What about you, Louise? What do you think?"
"It's complicated. Heroes and the Union have been intertwined for so long that separating them would bring more losses than gains. It would create divisions even among heroes—those who follow the Union and those who don't."
"...You're most worried about the division?"
It was the same as something Valkyrie had once said to the Smiling Man.
She acknowledged the Union's problems in many areas.
But accepting it all wholesale would also attack the heroes' justice.
Abuse of power, occasional misdeeds. That shouldn't happen.
But equating that with those who smile while killing people?
The moment the lines blurred, a massive problem would arise.
The heroes might lose their sense of 'heroic justice'.
"...By the way. What is that...?"
The place Kang Yuna was pointing to had none other than the Smiling Man standing there!
"Ah.... Is that, like, a costume?"
"Smiling Man masks. That's a new one."
To be precise, it was cadets wearing masks modeled after the Smiling Man's face.
There weren't many of them, but they were making bold new claims.
"Saved Ulleungdo from monsters! Rescued citizens from villains! And it turns out he even punished corrupt heroes! The Smiling Man might not be the vicious villain we imagine! Therefore, the government should promptly arrange a meeting and hold talks with the Smiling Man!"
It was a dangerously radical claim for hero cadets to make.
Senior cadets who saw it were warning them that they'd crossed the line.
But they weren't just fleshing out vague ideas.
It wasn't conspiracy theories or rumors. It was all true.
A villain had saved heroes. Saved cadets. Saved citizens.
And right when the heroes' and Union's issues erupted.
No wonder the claim 'The Smiling Man isn't your average villain' was gaining traction!
"...Even so, it's a bit dangerous."
"Louise?"
"Even if the opponents were evil. Even if they deserved punishment. The Smiling Man still killed people. That's different from heroes, who wield state authority against villains. As cadets, isn't this too hasty?"
Kang Yuna, who had already been helped by the Smiling Man multiple times.
She reflexively wanted to take his side but soon reconsidered.
'It bothers me a little, but Louise isn't entirely wrong.'
He might be different from other villains who only committed atrocities.
But there was no denying that his actions weren't right.
"Don't you think so, everyone?"
As fellow cadets aspiring to be heroes.
Louise looked at Seo Ha-eun and Jin Seo-ah as she spoke.
"... ."
"... ."
But the two cadets' eyes looked a little strange.
"Ha-eun? Seo-ah?"
You two... surely not? Just as Louise was about to ask in bewilderment.
"What the hell is this? You all must be out of your minds!"
Someone rushed up to the cadets wearing Smiling Man masks.
And reacted fiercely, telling them not to spout nonsense.
"The Smiling Man is a villain! Does a villain only harm good people? No! Those who sow chaos in society, who undermine the rules and order built on blood—these are villains! Justice means punishment for crimes through due process! Personal judgment is not justice; it's mere vigilantism!"
At first, they thought it was an academy professor or instructor.
They wouldn't let such pro-villain statements slide.
But no. The one fiercely stopping the cadets was someone else.
And to Kang Yuna and Seo Ha-eun, he was now a fairly familiar face.
'Huh...? Isn't that the staff member from the storage room?'
The person who was almost always in the storage room and hard to spot.
Aside from occasional meal breaks, he stayed there every day.
It was surprising enough that he appeared outside of lunchtime.
But he was showing an unusually intense reaction!
"You are hero cadets! You will become heroes someday! How can people like you defend someone who breaks the law! Criticizing the Union and corrupt heroes while defending a villain? This is unacceptable!"
But the cadets didn't back down and countered the staff member.
"Vigilantism is illegal, sure, but you can't ignore the results! Could corrupt heroes who deliberately cover up their crimes really have been punished by law? That's why the Smiling Man stepped in!"
"By that logic, even a non-hero Awakened or cadet killing a villain would be criminal? How do you explain that?"
"We've never called the Smiling Man a hero. Just that he's different from a 'villain'. We need meetings, contact, dialogue—and you're against that too?"
The storage room staff raised his voice even higher.
"Don't dodge the point! Cadets! You are cadets! You came here to become heroes! If ordinary citizens said that, it might be fine! But you are cadets! Do you have any idea what backlash there would be if police academy students defended a suspect who murdered a criminal?"
"That's... ."
"The Smiling Man killed heroes! He's an undeniable murderer! A criminal who uses Abilities! In other words, the villains we commonly refer to! The kind we must never associate with!"
The storage room staff's loud shout.
Villain! The Smiling Man is a villain!
Grip-
Hearing that, Jin Seo-ah unconsciously clenched her fist.
The staff was clearly speaking facts.
Jin Seo-ah knew that too.
But why? Why did she feel this way?
She wanted to rush forward and shout that it wasn't true.
He had saved the academy from monsters. And Ulleungdo too.
In the process, he saved countless people.
And just a few days ago, he had protected the Jin estate.
Even if he killed heroes. Even if he harmed people.
The Smiling Man was completely different from the villains the world knew... .
"No!"
Before anyone noticed, she had run up there.
Seo Ha-eun stood in front of the staff member.
"Cadet Seo Ha-eun."
"Yes. The Smiling Man did wrong. But no. The Smiling Man is absolutely not a villain."
It was a somewhat odd claim. Maybe forced.
The staff let out an exasperated sigh.
"Then what is he, Cadet Seo Ha-eun? If not a villain, is he some dark hero like they say online?"
"The Smiling Man is... ."
Seo Ha-eun hesitated for a moment, then found her answer.
"The Smiling Man is just... the Smiling Man."
Neither villain nor hero. Just the Smiling Man.